Best mini gaming PC – our top small computers

We take a look at the best mini PC for gaming

Table of Contents Table of Contents

Looking for a small but mighty new computer then the best mini gaming PC is what you should be after. With a lot of punch for the size you can still get plenty of choices and some surprising performance from it. Saving you space does sometimes come at the cost of performance but we’ll try to balance between the two.

Getting a great prebuilt PC can make your life all the different. With a small chassis to match you can keep it to a small form factor, in the likes of an mATX case or smaller even. Even now as the handheld sector is growing it provides an even bigger opportunity for you to get portable. We update the list regularly to bring you the latest choices, and the top of the list for the pick are the Skytech Shiva, MINISFORUM Venus UM790, and the ASUS ROG Ally.

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Best Mini Gaming PC

At the top of the list is the Skytech Shiva gaming PC, combining both older gen and newer hardware. You get a good combination of performance and value. Coming with the Ryzen 7 5700X it has great performance even though it is on an ended platform of AM4. But that provides a good price for performance.

That is supported with 16GB DDR4 running 3000MHz, which is a bit slow and low capacity but it still provides a good performance for the day as it is recommended for most games. As for its storage, it uses 1TB of NVMe for fast options although it might get used up rather quickly.

For the big GPU powering it the RTX 4070 is featured in the Skytech PC. It has plenty of performance across the board. It provides a great framerate in any title plus the inclusion of DLSS 3 through its frame generation, boosting it even higher. The case is a bit restrictive, with a 240mm AIO at the front it provides good cooling for the CPU.

In the next spot is the Minisforum Venus, which provides a small desktop-sized PC to go for. More in line with the size of HTPCs it brings the new generation of hardware for great computation and integrated graphics. Featuring the AMD Ryzen 7940HS, it provides a new generation and platform for a small case. Based on the AM5 platform it brings a new level of Radeon generation for improved performance even without a dedicated GPU.

It’s supported by 32GB of DDR5 memory running at 5600MHz, it does bring a lot of speed for all its processing work. It also comes on the newer platform for plenty of features and support down the line. It then comes with 1TB of NVMe SSD that provides fast and responsive usage. Although it may run out quickly, and need expansion soon after.

On the other hand, you could opt for a handheld like the ASUS ROG Ally. That brings the new platform as well with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme with AMD RDNA 3 GPU of integrated graphics. Coming in with a 16GB LPDDR5 6400MT/s it has plenty of fast processing for you to enjoy.

It stood up against the Steam Deck but provided some upgrades with a 7″ display running at 1080p and at a 120Hz refresh rate. It provides you a good enjoyment on the go and does not require a dock. But it has that option so you can use it as a PC when docked and with peripherals.

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Are mini PCs any good?

Mini PCs can be good, but they are unlikely to match up to what full builds can do, some of them can offer a good alternative depending on how small you’re going. The likes of a MATX build can bring the same kind of performance as a full build. With a smaller motherboard and space, you might be restricted to what GPU can fit and the amount of cooling, you might not get the top tier in there but you certainly can still get a lot of performance like in the mid-tier.

However, smaller PCs are much more limited. Most of them can’t fit dedicated GPUs inside. Relying on integrated graphics of the CPU things have improved but they won’t match up, limiting what you can do on them. Modern CPUs can provide a good start but nothing extreme and not above 1080p. But with handhelds on the rise, you can use those for portable and docked gaming.

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Does a mini PC overheat?

Depending on your components there are possibilities of your mini PC overheating. If you have full components in a MATX build, if you don’t have enough cooling, the internal temp can reach too high and cause throttling and issues for your build. however, the likes of handhelds and dedicated small PCs are unlikely to overheat as they have thought out dedicated cooling. They shouldn’t see many issues with their limited size and component features.

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Final word

There you have a look at some of the best mini gaming PCs. There are a lot more restrictions when looking at this size but you can always find something to suit your needs. Building your own small computer would offer you a lot more choice but especially with handhelds so popular you can be a lot more flexible and savvy.